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Being smart is hard.

Seems like people could at least read: § 97.403 Safety of life and protection of property. No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available.

Here is my brand new still in the box Tandy Corp Radio Shack TRC-24 22 Ch. CB radio. This is the model back in the day where as if you clip the black wire on the channel selector you activate the channel that is in the blank space between channels 22 & 23 known as Ch. 22A or the "Alpha" channel. It was kinda of a private channel that not a lot of CBs had in those days before the 40 channel CBs were introduced. Today that Alpha channel frequency is Ch. 24.

Most do, it’s sometimes called “cross”, but if you just turn off the receiving tone you don’t need to do a split.

CBRS Spectrum Tier Bands Based on the provided search results, the CBRS spectrum is organized into three tiers, with specific frequency bands allocated to each tier: Tier 1: Incumbent Users 3550-3700 MHz (entire band) - reserved for Incumbent users, including US Military radar systems and satellite services. Tier 2: Priority Access License (PAL) Holders 3550-3650 MHz - allocated for PAL holders, who require a license to operate in this band. Tier 3: General Authorized Access (GAA) Users 3650-3700 MHz - available for GAA users, who do not require a license to operate in this band. GAA users can operate opportunistically on unused Priority Access channels and use any portion of the 3550-3700 MHz band not assigned to a higher tier user. Note that the CBRS spectrum spans 150 MHz, from 3.55 GHz to 3.7 GHz in the United States, as mentioned in one of the search results. However, the specific frequency bands allocated to each tier are as described above.

Citizens Broadband Radio Service US broadcast band CBRS radios operate in the 3.5 GHz band, specifically between 3550 MHz and 3700 MHz, in the United States. This band was allocated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2015 for commercial use, with a three-tiered approach to sharing the spectrum among federal and non-federal users. Key Characteristics 150 MHz wide broadcast band Complements Wi-Fi, providing broader coverage, reliable connectivity, and advanced traffic segmentation Suitable for deploying private 5G/LTE networks Supports Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs), enterprises, and industries such as utility, energy, manufacturing, and agriculture Use Cases Private 5G/LTE networks for enterprises and industries Wireless broadband services for rural and underserved areas IoT (Internet of Things) applications requiring low-latency, high-reliability connectivity Note: CBRS radios are not to be confused with Citizens Band Radio Service (CB Radio) or other similar services. The Citizens Broadband Radio Service is a distinct allocation of spectrum for commercial use.

I've re-read this thread and fail to see what it has to do with the post you added to it. You're dragging an amateur radio fight that got dragged into a reddit fight into a random thread on a GMRS site.

My wife for whatever reason has decided she likes the walkie talkies because they are "fun". Right now she mostly uses the base station and we have communication between my house and my shop. Yes, we have phones, but me being "one of them" I dislike having all of my digital communications stored forever in Utah. I like being able to lift up the talkie and press one button to communicate with my wife. No multi button presses, waiting for a pick up. At times now I have to scroll down quite a ways to find my wifes text thread because for the most part we talk on the radio. I got them because it was something I did as a child. Figured it was fun. And even if my wife didn't enjoy them I still do. We have an active repeater and I talk with some of them characters on it. It's definitely a 2nd communication source that isn't reliant on others. It's getting to the point that I carry the talkie around with me more than I do my phone.

My wife of almost 44 years has never been into radio although she didn't mind me being into them. She now has her own pink GMRS radio. It only took one emergency situation for her to see the value of GMRS. The "once in 1000 years" has happened 5 times to us in the last 7 years, in the form of wildfire evacuations, snow storms taking down power and cell service and various other loss of power or cell service events. Oh and one semi lost person in the mountains that wouldn't have been lost had they carried an available radio. She took advantage of the cell phone outage last week to teach our 6.5 year old granddaughter how to talk on the radio.

Speaking from experience, when that "once in 1000 years" storm comes through and knocks out power (including cell towers) for weeks/months at a time, you'll be glad you have that GMRS radio.

PASS - Best Thing That Ever Recently Happened, Is That The FCC Mobility Division Clarified A Long Over Due Ruling On The Linking Of GMRS Repeater Stations...... Like It Or Not - GMRS Repeater Linking Is Only & Mostly Supported By Those With Small Roof Top Repeaters Wanting To Talk Distances, Those That Are Unable To Take Or Pass A Ham License Test, Or Repeater Owners Wanting To Engage In A "For Profit" GMRS Operation. Time For All To Get Over This.......

I put up the wristwatch walkie talkie thread and it seemed to spark some interest in radios you've had. So list'm here. Radio Nostalgia of days past when you were just a youngster or just starting out at whatever age to remember your radios of the past whether they be plain jane simple HTs to CB and ham radios of the past. Myself I had a GE pair of walkie talkies. Pull up antenna, on/off volume and PTT were what you had. When I got a bit older I ended up with a few CB radios and I think the last was a 40 CH SSB Midland. And I think this was the one I had but I'm not positive.

I recommend you program the radio using CHIRP and a computer. As they are then directly connected you don't have to worry about spurious signals messing up the radio.

Where are you testing the SWR? Test it where the coax goes into the antenna to be certain your coax is good. You'll need to use a dummy load in place of the antenna. Also be certain you have the correct SWR/Power meter as the GMRS ones are not designed to work on CB frequencies.

@WSFA358 for liking a comment, just hover over the circle with a heart in it and it will display the different "reactions" to choose from. For repeaters, do a search, there is already a lot of info. After that, if you still have trouble, then ask a specific question and you will get plenty of help.

Me back in the day with a Siltronix 1011D that popped up on my sisters FB page yesterday...

Some think it tilts the steering wheel up and down.

Well, I got all my quarterly mobile and portable radio programming updates done so, my next project was to install the Antenna Specialist/Antenex/Laird/TE Connectivity Trunk Lip NMO Mount and C27 Base Load CB Antenna on my 23 Wrangler IZARUBICON 2 Dr. as recommended by a couple of forum members. The install went pretty easy and yes, I have chassis ground continuity at the mount and NMO connector. That was verified before I cut the cable to the desired length and installed the UHF (PL 259) Connector. The mount and antenna was installed at the hood rear lip edge in front of the cowl on the passenger side as near to the outside as possible to not interfere with my Ditch Light. Before I do any cutting of the antenna element, I better check the provided cutting chart and see what is recommended for the CB freqs and the chart indicated a cut at the 49" mark for 27 Megs. I measured the element and it was already 49". In checking the VSWR, right off the bat my Rig-Expert indicated an initial VSWR at just a tad less than 1.5:1 on Ch. 1 and a little less than 1.2:1 on Ch. 40. Since, I can't stretch the antenna element, I elected to raise the antenna element about a 1/4" in the antenna ferrel. That worked pretty good but, based on my readings, I elected to drop it a tad back down and I ended up with 1.05:1 across the board. I'll just have to live with that. Next will be the comparison test and see what would be the difference in the Farz between the Firestik II and the C27 antennae. However, I have to wait until my friend gets back from Colorado next week so we can use the same Avalanche vehicle and I need to get another C27 antenna, so we are testing with a like antennae again. Onto the next project. Oh, by the way, please note, there is no shine/glare on my tires, and it is obvious that there is definitely no armorall on my Mickey Bajas. It had to be the shine/glare from that well-polished Chrome Bumper.

You have the power to change that. Getting a ham ticket is easier now then ever. Take the plunge you’ll be happy you did.

GMRS is intended for families and other small groups. As such, the technology is very limited. If you are looking to do other "interesting" things with two-way radios, you may need to look into ham.

Ever watch a boomer try and drive a 1920s Ford? They think the ignition timing lever is their turn signal!!

new guy checking in.

@WSEY982 Welcome to GMRS.

You ever watch a Gen Z try to use one? They stick their fingers in the holes in the dial to press the numbers thinking they're buttons.

I agree that’s based on location. In my area we don’t even have a GMRS repeater yet. There are ham repeaters in almost every town bigger than 10,000 people. Looking at repeaterbook there are 160 amateur repeaters in Montana and only 8 GMRS repeaters. MyGMRS lists 10 repeaters for Montana, but that’s still 16 times as many amateur repeaters. I realize wrkc935 was comparing traffic, rather than numbers of repeaters, but without repeaters, there is no traffic.

No thank you ! Ham radio has everything you are looking for. No need to change the intended use of GMRS. The ham test for tech is very easy. WRKL858/KK4THK

pass

Once you propose how to prevent hogging all repeater channels I will sign. Without the hogging limitation, this just solves one thing and presents a new problem in its place. Ursula K. Le Guin's Lathe of Heaven

Welcome!

Howdy from Oklahoma City. I'm a retired truck driver who has used CB radio (legally, of course) for decades. My adult son and I were recently discussing alternate communications for the day when internet and cell phones go dark. My investigations led me to the world of GMRS, something about which I knew nothing until a couple of weeks ago. I sent the FCC $35, and in return they kindly gave me a call sign (WSEG265). A pair of TidRadio TD-H3 GMRS hand held units arrived from Amazon five hours ago. So, here I am, starting from scratch and trying to learn whatever I can about this strange, new world.

@WSEF841 Welcome.

@WSEG304 Welcome to GMRS.

Welcome @WSEG304

Welcome!

Welcome!

Hi everyone, new GMRS user here. WSEG304 Granite Falls, NC. My radios are BTech GMRS Pros., and I look forward to learning another from you all.